Reading list for Jul'09

I was able to catch up with last month's books primarily because of the retreat I took during the last week of Jun. Moving on with my Personal MBA studies, the focus for the next half of the year would be on finance and accounting. I've also decided to learn to "think" and therefore have lined up several books by Dr. Edward De Bono.

Finance Sense - Dr. Prasanna Chandra
Dr. Prasanna Chandra (aka PC) was a faculty at IIM-B and very early in my career as a manager, I got a chance to attend to his 3 day workshop on "Finance for non-finance professionals", which broadened my perspective on money matters and I started appreciating the need of strict financial goals even at a project level. I've decided to begin the finance and accounting part of the PMBA, with this book, which is simple and elegant.

Lateral Thinking
This is one of the most famous books of Dr. De Bono. In a nut shell this book is supposed to teach better, different and efficient ways of thinking. The book offers lot of techniques and exercises to drive home the point. Be warned, next time when you meet me, I might be thinking very differently!!






The Leader in Me: How Schools and Parents around the world are inspiring greatness, one child at a time
This is a book by Stephen Covey. Dr. Covey talks about how A B Combs Elementary School in North Carolina, is using 7-Habits concepts to teach young children principles-based leadership. Dr. Covey's works, especially the 7-Habits have had a tremondous influence on me. I have always wondered whether there is a way one can teach 7-Habits for can be taught to kids. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this book in Bangalore Airport and bought it immediately, though the unfriendly Lufthansa people had told me that my hand-bag is over weight. Much of the book is on how the school has implemented the principles and there is one chapter on how it could be done at home too. Though Dr. Covey recommends 7-Habits of highly effective families as a better book for practicising 7-Habits at home, I reckon that this book is perhaps not for traditional Indian families.

How Full is Your Bucket: Positive Strategies for Work and Life
In this brief book, the authors, a grandfather-grandson team, explore how using positive psychology in everyday interactions can dramatically change our lives. Clifton (coauthor of Now, Discover Your Strengths) and Rath suggest that we all have a bucket within us that needs to be filled with positive experiences, such as recognition or praise. When we're negative toward others, we use a dipper to remove from their buckets and diminish their positive outlook. When we treat others in a positive manner, we fill not only their buckets but ours as well.